Ship of the Line: Ancient Warship Curatrix
by TwistedImage
Summary: Xander is drawn to a costume of a 'Gate Builder' and it has lasting consequences not just for him and his best friends but the world.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Buffy or SG-1 or SGA or any other show that may be used in this multi-crossover YAHF response to a Ship of the Line Challenge.**

Fair warning: This story may eventually contain (mild) sex scenes and a slash pairing. Pairings for main characters haven't been fully settled on, though none will be a major part of the story.

* * *

**Halloween 1997:**

Xander rolled his eyes at losing Buffy's attention to a pink dress that had enough ruffles to hide an entire second person in; though she would probably look good in it. He was still a little miffed at her stepping in with Larry and not understanding he didn't need help with some human bully; someone he had been dealing with for years. There was a reason Larry and his goons had never gone too far when it came to him and Willow (and Jesse-when he was still alive) and that was because Xander had run a terror campaign against them for months after they had almost pulled Willow's skirt down in middle school and that was after he had broken Larry's nose and cheekbone, when he caught him. The whole group had been terrified of him for the rest of the year, though time had obviously dimmed their memory.

He shook his head before going back to looking for a costume. He had planned to just get a toy gun, which was supposed to be the perfect $2 costume idea; the gun would have gone with the old army fatigues that he had. Now, he would need to look for something else because all the toy guns were gone and possibly dip into his small savings fund. Xander quickly browsed through the store, most of the more common costumes were completely picked over or only available in children sizes before he found a back corner with a few odder costumes.

Something drew him towards a packaged costume with the title 'Gate Builders'; it had cream-colored pants and a long-sleeved shirt in some natural-looking fiber, a light brown leather-looking vest with wide stripes that met in a V in the center, and a belt with some type of weapon. There was a smaller bag attached to the clothes bag that had a square metal tab and some oddly elongated hexagon that was bright green with silver edges. The little tag inside said it was a communicator and personal shield.

As he was looking for the likely expensive price for the costume, a voice spoke right behind him, causing him to jump and turn around. "Very interesting beings."

"Woah, man, don't sneak up on me." Sunnydale was the last place you wanted someone sneaking up on you.

"Apologies. I'm Ethan, the purveyor of this unique shop. I was just saying that is a good choice for a costume, though no one else has seemed interested. The Gate Builders were incredibly advanced and intelligent beings that are said to have been on Earth millions of years ago and they built a gate that could travel to other gates on other planets throughout the galaxy. That they are the ones who built the lost city of Atlantis before disappearing."

Xander didn't think the man was truly sorry from the small smirk on his face but he supposed Halloween shop owners were allowed to be a little creepy. The idea behind the costume was really neat though, maybe not the same as a soldier but still cool. "Sounds cool but I doubt I could afford it; I didn't see a price but I bet it isn't cheap."

"Ah, since it seems you're the only one to show any interest in the costume, I'm more than willing to make you a good deal. How about $20 or if you can get a friend to wear the other one, you can have them both for $30."

"Really?" Xander expected the costume to be near double that.

"Yes, indeed. The more sold, the less that will have to be packed up after tonight."

"Alright, let me go ask my friend and see if she'll go with me." Xander grabbed both costumes and headed to find Willow. Buffy had been trying to get her to wear something different than the ghost costume that was his best friend's standby but he didn't think Willow would be willing to wear anything Buffy had tried to point out.

* * *

"Buffy! Commander Buffy! I can't believe you actually picked that!" Xander exclaims in surprise, looking at the blue dress with black knee-high boots and tights with appreciation.

"Well, between not wanting to get in trouble for spending more than mom told me and the idea of dressing up as someone who would be nothing more than property to some man, it ended up not being a hard decision." Buffy shrugged, which brought the short hemline of the dress uniform up even more.

When Xander had gone to talk Willow into going as the same thing as him, requiring full puppy dog eyes, he had found his two friends still talking about the pink dress. Buffy had been wondering if her mother would kill her for spending the money and had asked his opinion when he had found them. Xander thought it had looked okay but said Angel needed better taste if he liked his women without rights because Xander preferred them strong and independent with the ability to vote and own land.

He had suggested a female Spock costume, mostly as a joke, because Vulcans were incredibly smart and still a warrior race but had left before Buffy had made a decision. Xander had never imagined that Buffy would choose the blue dress uniform from Star Trek over the pink dress from centuries past.

"Well, you make a mighty fine Starfleet Commander." Xander complimented, very much in appreciation of the dress uniform.

"Thanks, Willow was telling me more about Vulcans and they sounded cool. She should be down in a second." Buffy said before yelling up the stairs for Willow to hurry up.

Xander brought his hand up in a belated Vulcan salute, "Live long and prosper."

Buffy's eyebrows scrunched as she did the same thing, "Live long and prosper?"

"That works or the other reply is, 'peace and long life'." Buffy nodded before being distracted by Willow coming down the stairs.

Willow came down the stairs in a similar outfit to Xander's own. The same cream-colored pants, though the shirt seemed to be missing as her arms were bare, and a slightly different vest. Willow's vest had a higher collar than his own and cut slightly different with a belt, it was also showing a hint of cleavage. Willow was also wearing boots with a good heel, where Xander had gone with brown leather dress shoes.

They both had the metal tab attached to their vest below the collar and their weapon belt strapped on; though Xander thought the handle with odd short crystal protrusion, that lights up with a click of a button, was kind of lame. Xander didn't see the green 'shield' thing on Willow but he had clipped his on under the vest.

"You look awesome Willow." Xander told his best friend, as he admired her outfit and figured that it was Buffy's influence that had caused Willow to not wear the shirt and add heeled boots.

"Thanks, you too. We all ready?" Xander and Buffy nodded, so they headed off to the school to acquire gangs of monsters...also known as children.

* * *

_"Janus, I invoke your spirit. Hear my plea. Seize the night for your own reason. Come, appear and show to us that which is infinite power. The mask transforms itself into flesh and blood. Your holy presence curdles the heart. Janus! Take the night!"_

A wave of energy sweeps from the two-faced bust of the god Janus, spreading change that would last much longer than just a single night.

* * *

Evander shook his head, trying to clear the disturbance from his mind, before looking around himself. He had somehow ended up on a planet, when just before he had been piloting his ship to check on an anomaly in Terra's system. Now, he was on an unknown planet with an unknown level of technological development.

He touched the communicator near his collar, glad that it was there, and called for his ship; he wasn't sure what he would do if his ship wasn't in range. _"Curatrix, this is Commander Evander. Relay location and estimate for a gate ship arrival. Is Salix still aboard?"_

The crisp female voice brought sharp relief, causing Evander to take a deep breath before letting it out slowly. _"Commander we are in the Avalon Galaxy and I am currently in high orbit around Terra, though it does not match last scan. There is an irregularly high concentration of type-Iota metaphysical energy in your location and my sensors are picking up 5,931,672,379 human lifeforms worldwide. A gate ship can be with you within 10.2 minutes and Salix is not aboard but within 100 ft of your location and closing."_

"_Thank you, Curatrix. Send a gate ship to my location, immediately, and keep it cloaked. Keep a check on the energy readings and report any changes."_

"_Gate Ship Alpha has disembarked, Commander."_ Evander nodded before looking around for his lead scientist, Salix. It wasn't long before she came into view from around a house.

"_Evander! Have you already contacted Curatrix? I've gotten very odd readings from here and the beings that are running around." _Salix wasn't looking at him but at the hand-held screen in front of her, her brow slightly furrowed in worry.

"_I have and her sensors have found a high concentration of metaphysical energy in the area and is sending a ship to our location."_

Salix nodded in relief before her brow furrowed again and her hand touched her temple. "_I believe this energy has done something to us."_

"_Salix?"_ Evander questioned, unsure what she meant, hoping this has not injured his lead scientist in some way.

"_I am hearing a voice inside my mind; she tells me that I have possessed her body and that the beings I have seen are children in costumes that have been changed."_

Evander raised a brow before closing his eyes and searched for another presence in his own mind, jolting when he heard a voice shouting loudly to be heard; he is unsure how he was unaware of it till just now. _"I believe I am experiencing something similar."_

Before he is able to reach a hand for Salix, to share his mind with her, they both heard the sound of some type of energy weapon firing. A woman comes running around the corner and is firing upon beasts that are chasing her. Evander and Salix bring up their own stun weapons and fire off a few shots, taking down the last two possibly changed children. Thankfully, it looks like the energy weapon the woman was using was also a type of stunner.

The woman spins towards them but doesn't raise her weapon at them but neither does she put it up. She has a slight green tinge to her skin and long, pointed, ears. Her mind reminded Evander of a still river that has hidden currents underneath the surface. "Greetings, I am Commander Spock of Starfleet and First Officer of the United Federation starship _Enterprise_. Do you know the name of this planet, it looks like Earth during the beginning of the 21st century?"

Evander tilts his head slightly, as his translation micro-nanites engage and process this new language. "I am Commander Evander of the Lantean warship _Curatrix_ and this is my lead scientist, Salix. We are on the planet Terra in the Avalon Galaxy and we are unaware of the year. Previously, we were on our ship checking out an anomaly in Terra's system when we appeared on the planet's surface."

Commander Spock raised a sharp eyebrow before replying. "I believe I experienced something similar, as I was on the _Enterprise_ before I awoke here. Though our ship had not encountered an anomaly of any kind and we were still hours away from a planet in the beta quadrant. I have been unable to get in contact with either the _Enterprise_ or my Captain, Kirk."

"If you wish, you can come with us onto the _Curatrix_ and we can scan for your ship. If it is in this galaxy, we will pick it up." Evander offered, as he sensed no ill-will from Commander Spock.

"I believe that is perhaps the best choice, at this moment. How will we be getting there, transporter or transport ship?" Spock asked, curious. She was slightly wary but sensed no malice from either of the two beings; though with how well trained their minds were, it was entirely possible they were hiding their true intentions. Evander and Salix had minds that were calmer and more even than Vulcan elders, though warmer and much more curious.

To Spock's surprise, a small slanted cylindrical ship shimmered into view down the street. "We will use a gate ship because I am unaware of a transport platform in a reasonable distance."

The three quickly headed towards the gate ship, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings for another attack.

Evander slid into the pilot's chair and re-cloaked the ship with a thought before taking off towards _Curatrix_.

* * *

Spock had to work to keep her surprise to herself, as the small ship quickly passed through the atmosphere and it wasn't long before a massive ship came into view. Far larger than any Federation ship that Spock was aware of. Spock estimated it was between 3,200 to 3,500 meters long and that was a very rough estimate, with only the small ship to use in comparison.

Not only that but it seemed as if the small ship was piloted by thought alone. Commander Evander piloted the small ship into a large multi-level bay on the back side of what looked like a long attachment to the side of the main ship; the front of which had several antenna-like structures attached to it. There were 11 other ships that matched the one they were in docked on the 2nd and 3rd level along with a larger ship in the center.

The three quickly departed with Spock quietly following the other two, while observing everything around themselves. She was beginning to think these were members of a highly advanced species and their technology was so far very unlike any she had seen among the Federation.

"We'll be transporting to the main bridge." Evander explained as they entered a small room, right outside of the ship bay. With a bright white light, they disappeared before reappearing in a similar room and emerged in a wide, well-lit, hallway. The architecture was nothing like the sharp and occasionally sterile look of the _Enterprise_.

As they entered the large Bridge, the Commander quickly settled into the center raised seat. The Commander's seat had slightly slanted work tables on either side and wide hand rests that obviously allowed some type of connection; they had lit up as soon as the Commander had laid his hands on them. Salix, on the other hand, went to a station to the far right and began pulling up images on a viewing screen. There were multiple stations spread across the spacious area and most faced towards the massive viewport that looked out over the ship and into space.

Spock took a step closer to Salix's station and tried to comprehend the information that had been brought up but it made no sense and was in no language that she recognized. The pair was quiet for several long minutes, obviously analyzing the data their ship had collected. Though Salix did have Spock explain _Enterprise_'s energy signature and its last known location.

"I've cloaked the ship, as the planet has advanced enough technology to get a visual of us if they haven't already. I've set the _Curatrix_ to monitoring communications, in case they try to contact us. There isn't another ship in this star system but there are hundreds scattered across the galaxy with various energy signatures and none that match Spock's description. The most confusing information is that we have two full zero-point energy crystals and the ship is in perfect condition. The minor damage we sustained in the last encounter with the Wraith is gone and _Curatrix_ is in good enough shape to have just finished being constructed; except we still have all her upgrades. The ship is emitting faint but similar energy readings as where we came from, as are we." The Commander reported as he turned towards them.

Spock wasn't surprised to hear that the _Enterprise_ hadn't been found, especially if she wasn't in the same century or possible universe, but still couldn't deny she wasn't disappointed. What would happen if she was never able to get back to the _Enterprise_ or Kirk; they had just gotten their shit together, as her Captain liked to say, and now this.

Salix nodded, "I'm getting similar readings and I've found a center that the energy seems to be radiating from. It supports the idea that our consciousness is possessing these bodies and the surge of this particular type of metaphysical energy has somehow facilitated that."

Spock had heard the pair discussing what the 'voices' they believed were the original owners of their body were telling them when they were flying towards _Curatrix_. Apparently, they were told to find someone named Giles but the Commander and Salix both wished to get better energy readings. Spock had not been able to communicate in such a way but the minds of the deformed beings on the planet had been oddly dual-natured.

"The question is, do we try to fix the problem from here or go back to the planet's surface and try to find this Giles?" The Commander asked them.

"If we could be sure there wouldn't be a negative reaction, the simplest solution would be to use a drone to destroy the center or perhaps a remotely controlled gate ship." Salix offered.

"We can't take that chance; the population is too dense if the explosion is amplified and we have no idea the psychological consequences that would have on those of us affected," Spock added to the conversation.

The three spent the next several minutes deciding on a course of action before the ship let out an alarm. "What-" Salix cut off as the three of them were hit by a wave of energy and knocked out.

* * *

General Hammond rubbed a hand over his face before going back to looking at the picture that one of the NORAD satellites had taken before the ship had disappeared completely. It had appeared with no warning and had disappeared just the same; they couldn't even be sure that it was still there. SGC hadn't gotten ahold of the pictures till the ship had already disappeared; he had made a note to find out what had delayed the relay of the pictures from NORAD above them.

He was currently waiting for SG-1 to arrive, as they had been off base for a team cookout at Colonel O'Neill's place. If they got into contact with the space ship, SG-1 would be making first contact.

A bottle of Tums and a bottle of water appeared in front of him and he gave the MSgt. a grateful look. "Thanks, Walter."

"No problem, Sir. We are still keeping a look at communications but so far, it seems as if no civilian saw the ship while it was still visible. Though there have been reports of something making a streak through the atmosphere, we haven't received any pictures or video. We'll begin trying to communicate with the ship as soon as you give word."

"After I brief SG-1, then we'll begin trying to contact the ship if it is still there."

MSgt Harriman nodded before going back to his station, looking out over the gate room below.

* * *

Xander shook his head, trying to clear it, but just succeeded in making his head pound even worse. When he heard a soft groan to the side, he bolted up to see Willow and Buffy sitting up from the floor. "You guys okay?" He asked, as he headed over to them and helped them up off the floor.

"Xander...look behind you." Willow said in a quiet voice, causing him to spin around and still at the view of space he was offered. "I don't think we went back to normal; I still have all of Salix's memories."

Xander swallowed roughly as he realized the same thing, he knew every detail about Evander's life and not only that but he could do any of the things the Lantean had been able to. "Same, Buffy?"

She shook her head and he was thankful to see that she had lost the green tinge to her skin and pointy ears. "Not exactly. I don't think I'm half-Vulcan anymore but I still have faded memories and I think I'm smarter."

"So, why did we stay the same?" Willow asked, curious as always.

"Maybe because we were evolved along our evolutionary path instead of completely changing species. Humans, as we know them, were made with the same basic physiology as the Alterans and were meant to eventually evolve along similar lines, as long as they didn't purposefully diverge themselves with genetic experimentation. Plus, we went as beings that are real, not a fictional character." Xander offered an explanation, his mind considering multiple ideas before giving the most likely.

Willow nodded slowly before Buffy asked a question, "Does that mean that all the others that were changed will have memories of what happened?"

The three looked at each other with barely suppressed horror, hoping that wasn't the case.

"Maybe you kept what you have because of the Slayer spirit, as that makes you slightly different from your average human, but we won't know till we get into contact with Giles. We need to head back down and see what happened and who or what stopped it." Willow said hopefully.

The three nodded before quickly making their way toward the transporter that would take them to a gate ship bay.

* * *

Giles shook his head and rubbed at his temple with one hand, trying to comprehend all he had been told. "So, you are saying that two of you have been completely changed by the spell and Buffy still has memories. Not only that but there is a space ship in orbit above Earth?"

The Watcher couldn't help but ask, again, because it seemed nearly unbelievable but they all seemed changed, though Willow and Xander the most obvious because of the knowledge they had of the spell and hellmouth; the conversation of types of metaphysical energies and the fabric of the dimension had been a level of knowledge that couldn't be faked and had gone far beyond what he knew. He would need to sit them both down and get them to explain what they knew, though Willow seemed better informed than Xander on the subject.

The three changed teens nodded seriously and Giles wanted to track down Ethan and continue the 'discussion' they had been having before the man had managed to escape. The supposedly quiet Halloween night had turned out anything but and now he knew there would be lasting consequences. He, along with the unlikely duo of Angel and Cordelia, had discovered the origin of the costumes and had confronted Ethan and destroyed the bust of Janus that had been the anchor for the chaos spell.

"From what we saw and found out from Ethan, there shouldn't have been any lasting consequences. Those who were affected, shouldn't have anything but possibly faded memories that would quickly disappear. The spell absolutely didn't have the power or parameters to create a space ship." Giles knew that type of power, if even possible, would have killed Ethan.

"As I said before, I believe it is because Lanteans are real but Vulcans and many of the other costumes were not. There is also the possibility that distance played a significant factor in us not changing back. As for my ship, it could have very likely already been cloaked in space; though the pristine condition and full energy crystals were obvious alterations. The last memories I have as Evander is when my ship had arrived back in Terra's system from Pegasus, after being told to return by the Lantean Council before they departed Atlantis, and after the passengers and the rest of the crew departed, Salix and Evander were going to investigate an anomaly before finishing repairs to the damaged ship. You must also consider that space wasn't littered with a variety of ships, even though it is likely there were other space ship captains that were transformed; this is another factor that supports my idea that _Curatrix_ was already in this solar system, just cloaked." Xander offered.

Willow nodded before added her own thoughts. "My memories stop in a similar place and I have to agree with why we kept out changes. Along with the fact that this god Janus, is likely an Ascended. Among the Alterans that left with us to avoid a war with the more pious Ori, who were becoming violently zealous in their beliefs, there were still those who held similar but more peaceful ideals. They believed their path to ascension was much more spiritual and didn't agree that worship, with careful restrictions and reciprocation, was detrimental to them as ascended beings. Janus may have been a more scientific mind, an unbelievably brilliant one-even among us, but that doesn't mean he didn't balance that with a more spiritual aspect along his path to ascension. It is highly possible that he chose a path that led to reciprocal worship."

"Reciprocal worship?" Giles couldn't help but be intrigued by the new knowledge that was available to him now but it was tempered with the fact that Willow and Xander would be forever changed by the events of this night. He could only hope that the changes weren't detrimental to them in the long run.

"The Ori created a religion called Origin, that was supposedly to help others along the path to ascension but they corrupted and twisted it. Those of the Ori that would ascend would use the forced worship they received to become more powerful; one of their goals was to become so powerful they could destroy any other Ascended that didn't follow them. This type of forced worship, without a return of some sort to the worshippers, twisted the Ascended Ori even more. The Alterans who left to avoid a war with the Ori put in place restrictions upon those who planned to receive worship in their ascended state and discouraged it altogether. It limited the power those who ascended along that path would be able to wield and the amount of worship they could receive. They would only receive true worship from devote followers or those who followed correct rituals and in exchange for the worship they had to provide something, though only with a direct request. In the case of Janus, Ethan used a ritual to evoke an aspect of him and in exchange for Ethan's worship, he powered the chaos spell." Willow informed Giles.

"Ah, very interesting. How about-" Giles was cut off from more questions by Buffy.

"I know this is all fascinating stuff and even I want to know more but I would also like to make it home and get a couple hours of sleep. Species changes are exhausting."

"I suppose this can wait, we will reconvene sometime this weekend or Monday." Giles wouldn't mind some sleep for himself, after the long evening.

The three give him quick nods of agreement before heading out of the library.

* * *

Xander headed back to the cloaked gate ship that was parked on the football field, as he planned to go back to _Curatrix_ for the night. There had been information that he hadn't had time to investigate earlier on-board the ship, such as the filled storage rooms and raw material hold. Along with checking out the ships in all 3 ship bays and the results of the deep scan that Xander had started before they had left the warship. The deep scan of Terra and its solar system should be completed and he would have all the locations of the Lantean labs that had been created when they had traveled back to Terra from Pegasus and the ones from before they left Terra. That and the location of the Astria Porta, if it had been moved from its previous location on Terra's south pole.

Xander didn't comment when Willow slid into the co-pilot chair of the gate ship, just let his fingertips brush hers in communication; an automatic gesture that had been common between Evander and Salis, who had been as close as siblings. They had been born the same year, along with 8 others on Atlantis, and had gone through common classes together before they had gone into their more specific fields. When Evander had been granted his own ship, and then small fleet, he had immediately requested Salix as his lead scientist.

"Sleep before you start investigating or you'll never get to sleep." Willow ordered, as they lifted off and headed towards _Curatrix_.

Xander wanted to argue but he could feel his fatigue dragging at him and knew he would give into his oldest friend. He gave a grumpy grunt in agreement, which brought an amused eye roll from Willow.


	2. Chapter 2

Notes: Sorry for the delay. Had it uploaded to doc manager on and forgot to actually post it live and so never posted it on TTH.

-Words in Italics are a different language, mostly Ancient.

-The first chapter had a few small changes and if I ever finish this, it will likely be re-edited and posted on AO3.

* * *

"We still haven't received a response?" Major General Hammond asked.

"No, but we do have the message on repeat every 5 minutes and if the ship is still there, we hope they'll respond, Sir." MSgt. Harriman informed Hammond.

"That is if they can even receive our type of communication or have a way to understand and communicate in our language." Captain Carter added as the rest of SG-1 were standing in the control room.

Major General Hammond nodded, "True. All we can do now is wait and I'm taking it as good news that they haven't taken any offensive actions against us, as far as we know."

"What about the streak in the sky that originated from Earth?" Colonel O'Neill asked.

"The pictures we received showed nothing more than that and so far, nothing has shown what it was. We can't confirm that it was an alien ship and the satellite that was monitoring the large ship, during the short time it was visible, showed nothing approaching it. Admittedly, it could have been cloaked before it left the ground and no radar was able to pick anything up." MSgt. Harriman told those in the control room.

"Still no reports from the public about sightings of the ship, Walter?" Daniel Jackson asked.

"No, Sir. There hasn't been a single reported sighting of the ship from the almost half-hour it was visible."

"While that seems unlikely, even with it in high orbit, what I want to know is why it took so long for us to get the report of the ship. Have you found anything out, Sir?" Colonel O'Neill asked the general.

"From what I've gathered it was a case of someone not being at their post as they should have been, monitoring the satellite feed, and then believing the images were a hoax. When they finally reported the images to their superior, they believed it to possibly be a hoax as well and investigated it before sending the images to us. I've impressed upon them that in the future they won't delay in relaying information to us, even if they believe it to be a hoax, and the one who wasn't at their post will be reprimanded and rotated out of NORAD." Major General Hammond informed the group.

The group shook their heads at the incompetence and disbelief that had delayed vital information so long; if the ship had been overtly hostile, they would have been completely without warning.

"If the measurements that have been reported are true, that ship is far larger than a Ha'tak or any Goa'uld vessel that I have witnessed and looks nothing like the Jaffa legends of Asgard ships," Teal'c told his companions.

MSgt. Harriman interrupted the group before they could continue their discussion. "Sir, we've just received reports of atmospheric entry, obviously controlled due to the angle of descent. Radar and satellites picked nothing up beforehand and still have no visual of a ship."

"Can a possible landing site be determined from the angle of descent?" Captain Carter asked as they read the reports.

"Southern California, somewhere in the Los Padres National Forest, if the course isn't changed once it reentered the atmosphere."

"We'll have SG-3 and 5 sent to Edwards, since that's close by, and have a squadron of fighters fly over the area." Major General Hammond commanded before leaving the control room for his own office, leaving SG-1 to look over the information that had been sent to MSgt. Harriman.

* * *

Xander stretched as he slowly woke up before giving himself a few minutes to think about what had happened last night. He had been fundamentally changed by a spell and now had the complete memories of another person; his life was forever changed and he wasn't sure if it would be a blessing or a curse. There must be a reason for Janus to interfere so obviously because while a rare few of the Lanteans had chosen a path of worship, the majority stuck to a no-interference policy if they were able to ascend.

The newly made Lantean could only wonder at what threats must be facing Terra, or the whole of Avalon, as that was the most likely reason Janus had interfered; though this was assuming that the god Janus was an Ascended and not some other being. It made him worry about the coming of an apocalypse or possibly the Wraith finding Terra; neither were thoughts Xander wanted to dwell on and left dread sitting hard and cold in his stomach.

When he finally rolled out of bed, he moved to settle himself into a wide slightly-crouching stance in the middle of the spacious room before beginning a type of constant motion meditation that Evander had practiced. Xander hoped it would bring a measure of peacefulness to his mind. He slowly moved through the motions that Evander had known so well, while breathing deeply and evenly. Xander used the movements that took more concentration than he expected, likely due to lack of muscle memory, to clear his chaotic mind and better assimilate the two sets of memories that he had.

Xander continued his moving meditation for over half-an-hour until he finally felt more mentally balanced and settled into his body. When he finished, he stood still and naturally let his breathing go back to normal. Then, he headed towards the shower because as he had plenty he wanted to do today and he needed to get a start on it.

There were the reports from the deep scan he had Curatrix run waiting for him and the knowledge repository had information from beyond Evander's memories that he and Willow would need to read. He only had the weekend before he would need to head back to Sunnydale and school, though he saw little point in high school with all the knowledge packed into his brain now; something he would have to think about later.

The warm water from the shower further relaxed him and he wasted little time getting clean. The room Xander was in was the Commander's quarters and were rather spacious; they contained an eclectic assortment of artifacts that Evander had collected and looked very lived in. The suite of rooms consisted of an office that was just down a hallway from the main bridge, a war room with a large holographic table, a sitting room, and a bedroom with closet and bathroom.

It was eerie how the ship looked so pristine and like just days before it had housed nearly a hundred Lanteans; to Evander's memories, it had. Xander could only hope that all the Lanteans that had come back to Terra, escaping the Wraith, found peace and for those that sought it, ascension.

* * *

Xander settled into the control chair after a short breakfast and talk with Willow, who was just as eager to dive into the reports from the deep scan and information from the knowledge repository. He connected with _Curatrix_ and let the scan reports filter into his mind and allowed the information to integrate with what he already knew. There were few Alteran relay satellites left in this galaxy that were responding, possibly due to many being destroyed or powerless. The lack of relays hampered the amount of information his scans had returned about the multitude of ships in Avalon and the further from Terra's system, the less information he received. The satellite at the edge of Terra's system was nearly fully powered still and reported all activity in the solar system since the power source was replaced after the Lantean's return; there was limited activity over the past couple thousand years.

The scans of Terra showed the location of both _Astria Porta_, the original and one that had been added in the millions of years between the Lanteans leaving originally and coming back to Terra. When the Lantean Council had decided on returning to Terra, over continuing the war with the Wraith, the first exploratory team had come through a second gate into what would become Egypt and encountered a parasitic race that pretended to be gods. Evander, along with every still active ship, had gotten the report from the exploratory team along with orders to evacuate to Avalon from the Council, as returning to Atlantis was impossible due to the Wraith blockade. Though Evander hadn't left without a final attack against the Wraith, one that the Council wouldn't have likely approved due to the purposeful loss of a ship and damage to nearly half of a solar system.

There was a weak signal pinging _Curatrix_ from Wyoming, south-east of Yellowstone Lake, that Xander would need to check out as soon as possible. Scans showed a massive underground structure of some sort that was likely run off geothermal energy since it was so close to a super volcano. The repository provided a basic layout of the multilevel underground structure that showed a massive space that was large enough to house a warship. Xander wondered if there really was another ship from his small fleet that could possibly be in working order or if it had been cannibalized for the material; Evander had made it to Terra with 3 warships after all, including his own-_Curatrix_.

There was also a repeated communication from Terra, something _Curatrix_ had informed him of before he went to sleep, that he wasn't sure what to do with but decided to ignore for now; he would discuss a course of action with Willow later. It wasn't particularly important or urgent as Xander didn't believe Terra was even close to being able to act as a threat to them and he meant them no harm. Though there had been fighter jets in a search pattern over Los Padres that the gate ship's sensors had picked up when he and Willow had left after debriefing Giles; it was likely the military saw the exit and entry of the gate ship because while it was cloaked, the disturbance of the atmosphere was unavoidable. He would need to make sure his re-entry angle didn't lead to Sunnydale.

The most interesting thing about the communication was that it originated from the same area in Colorado as where the second gate was now located, though its _Vocatus_ device was in Russia. Something he would investigate later but wasn't a pressing issue, as long as they weren't trying to use the gate without the device; as that could be incredibly dangerous.

There was evidence of a small lab in the Los Padres National Forest, which was North and East of Sunnydale; though there was no power signature coming from the lab. The lab was about 12 miles outside of city-limits and was nestled inside one of the many mountains in the area with the only access through a transporter ring. The information in the ship's repository dated the lab at nearly 20 million years and came with the information it had been tracking before it had lost power. The lab had monitored the thinness between dimensions in Sunnydale, along with any evidence of something crossing over, but its main function had been actually helping keep the dimensional 'fabric' from being ripped open and reducing the unique energy signature that the area produced that drew demons to it. Increased activity from over a thousand years before had drained the power source of the lab and no new information was available since then. It was something that Xander needed to look into as soon as possible, especially if they could re-power the lab because it would help keep the Hellmouth from being opened.

Another thing that he would need to investigate further was the small cloaked ship that was in orbit of the moon and another that was made from a similar alloy in Egypt; it wasn't the only thing on Terra with the same alloy either. They had all been discovered due to the scan parameters searching for anything with naquadah in it, as it was an element that was present in nearly all Lantean structures. The odd, and illogical, alloy of naquadah and gold was rather distinctive and from information in the repository from after Evander's memories, it came from a species called Goa'uld; the disturbing parasitic race that the displaced Lanteans had encountered after they came back to Terra and were in occasional dispute with. It was possible that some of the ships that _Curatrix's_ sensors found in the galaxy belonged to these Goa'uld but Xander wouldn't know till he investigated further; hopefully researching the energy signature of the cloaked ship would yield enough to be able determine if any of these Goa'uld still existed by comparing energy signatures, if it hadn't changed significantly.

The knowledge repository had plenty of information about the Goa'uld; a parasitic species that had begun to use humans as host and presented themselves as gods to the primitive humans that the Lanteans had encountered when they had returned to Terra. There was an unproven theory that the Goa'uld were the offspring of some extra-dimensional being due to the incredibly unusual evolution of the species that didn't match with their planet of origin. The repository also held detailed reports of the space ships the species had utilized but it was likely, if the species was still around, that they had advanced over the past several thousand years. There was hard evidence that their technology was influenced by Alteran technology, which had likely been left in Avalon when most Alterans had left the galaxy; unfortunately, more technology had been left when the last Lanteans died or ascended. Xander was disappointed to find that the Lanteans had only opposed the Goa'uld a minimum amount and had left the beings mostly in control of regions of not just Terra but the galaxy; even as he reluctantly understood that they had been a group that just fled from a century-long war and wouldn't have wanted to be fully involved in another. Not that Xander (or Evander) agreed with the Lantean Council's decision that left the Wraith to continue to feed upon those left in the Pegasus galaxy with little to no opposition. If there hadn't been so many on Evander's own ship or the other 2 in his fleet that wished to return to Terra, then he would have stayed against orders but he hadn't been willing to split up his fleet with so few willing to stay behind.

The repository also showed information of three advanced races that the Lanteans had made an alliance with, only partially to oppose the Goa'uld; though the displaced Lanteans had contributed more to the research of Goa'uld and their ships and less to any actual offensive actions. Admittedly, most of the Lantean warships had been lost in the fight to the Wraith but not all; as _Curatrix_ was evidence. Xander was incredibly interested in finding evidence of advanced allies that could possibly still be around and would need to thoroughly investigate more into the Asgard, Furlings, and Nox. Each race had been capable of space flight, though not all still used it, and much more beyond that; their alliance had resulted in shared technologies and philosophies that were beneficial to each race. None of the three races had originated in the Avalon galaxy but all had explored the galaxy to some extent before either settling or moving on; just the same as the Alterans had explored most of the local galaxies.

Xander found the Nox were the closest in age to the Alteran race and those that had settled in the Avalon galaxy, on a planet they named Gaia, had come from a galaxy nearly as far away as the Alteran's home galaxy, Altera. The Nox, same as the Lanteans, could live for many centuries, even without the help of advanced technology; which some Lanteans used to extend their lifespan even more. The Nox practiced a philosophy of absolute pacifism and non-violence, so strict that they wouldn't defend themselves, choosing to hide instead if they felt it necessary. They had a symbiotic relationship with nature and were able to manipulate metaphysical energies far beyond the capabilities of the displaced Lanteans; so much so, that they could bring their dead back to life. Their technology was just as advanced, if not more so in certain areas, as the Lanteans but the Nox did not have the same dependence on it. They also chose an isolationist stance and once settled they had rarely ventured forth from their planet. In regards to the Goa'uld, they had provided a few passive defenses and safe havens but had refused to take any action that would cause harm to any, even the Goa'uld. The most important contribution to the Lanteans had been the help to ascend for those that chose such a path and had been unable to do so without assistance; the Nox were equally capable of shedding their physical forms but had no desire to do so till they reached their true death and rejoined their energies with the universe.

The Furlings were not nearly as old as the Lanteans or Nox but a large group had settled in the Andromeda galaxy, which they had named Furlo, nearly half-a-million years before after leaving their home galaxy; which was around 10 million light years away. They had chosen the Andromeda galaxy due to the presence of certain naturally occurring elements that were more abundant there than any other local galaxy, which was necessary for their technology. The Furlings were a fairly peaceful race that had gained a non-violence philosophy from previous encounters with the Nox; though they were far less strict about it. The Furlings had naturally evolved much differently than the Lanteans, Nox, or even the Asgard; something that had interested some Lantean scientists. The small group of Furlings that had been in the Avalon galaxy had created hidden spaces for themselves and humans that were mostly safe from the Goa'uld but like the Nox hadn't taken any offensive actions, though they had defended themselves if they were ever directly attacked. Xander found information that they had taken some humans back to the Andromeda galaxy and he wondered if they were still there.

The Asgard had been by far the youngest of the advanced races, having only achieved spaceflight around 30,000 years before and had a recorded history of a little over 100,000 years. Of the four races in the alliance they had taken the most proactive stance against the Goa'uld and had been doing so for thousands of years before the Lanteans had returned to Avalon. The displaced Lanteans had eventually given the Asgard access to one of their knowledge repositories to help the race continue to act as protectors of the Avalon galaxy. Though there was information that the race had used extensive cloning technology to extend their lifespans, which was naturally much shorter than either the Lantean or Nox, and the Lanteans had pointed out significant problems with their process of cloning that could eventually cause irreversible damage to their genome; another reason for gifting them a repository was to help them reverse the damage done.

Of the three races, Xander hoped the Asgard still had a presence in the Avalon galaxy or their home galaxy, Ida. He was also interested in their ship designs and wondered how they had advanced over the past 10,000 years.

Xander would begin looking for signs that any of these advanced races were still in Avalon and hopefully be able to make peaceful contact if the Lanteans had once had an alliance with them. It was one of many things Xander made plans to do in the near future, a list that seemed to be growing exponentially. He would soon need to have a long conversation with Willow, along with Buffy and Giles.

He found that over the thousand years directly following the return to Terra from Atlantis, the amount of knowledge added to the repository decreased significantly till it was a tiny trickle that eventually stopped a few thousand years before; except for the rare automatic updates from labs that still had power, of which there were few. Many of the Lanteans that came from Atlantis sought ascension, several left Terra and possibly Avalon all together, and others joined the Nox or primitive societies of humans that were on Terra. The humans that had been found on Terra after leaving Atlantis were far less advanced than those who had lived before the plague that had spread and wiped out many of the Terrans and Alterans; which had caused them to leave Avalon in the first place several million years before.

The first generation of sentient life that the Alterans seeded in their image on Terra, therefore named Terrans, had been guided along by them, which helped the Terrans evolve and advance much more quickly than they would have done on their own. Over the many millions of years that Alterans had made Terra and all of Avalon their home, before the plague that had devastated the population, some of the Terrans advanced enough to became near equals and slowly started to interbreed with the Alterans.

The plague that wiped out much of the population started on a planet the Alterans had named Vis Uban, that was meant to be a crown jewel of their technological advancements that was even greater than the city-ships, and quickly spread to the other planets they occupied. Many Alterans and Terrans tried and succeeded in achieving ascension, as a way to escape the plague. All those that had still been on Terra, and in Avalon, and free of the plague had eventually evacuated in city-ships, such as Atlantis; which had been the last to leave Terra. The plague over many years almost wiped out the population that hadn't ascended before evacuating Avalon.

Before they left, many contaminated cities and labs on Terra and throughout Avalon were completely destroyed if they couldn't be sterilized and from the start all bodies had been incinerated. Both actions left little evidence of the Alterans presence from before their return to Terra, 10,000 years previously, except a few well-hidden labs and Terra's original _Astria Porta_. A cure wasn't discovered till several years after arriving in Pegasus but few wished to return to Terra so soon.

The second generation of sentient life that was seeded on Terra was created by the very last group of Alterans that left Avalon, hoping that the new Terrans would survive and thrive due to extreme measures of sterilization that had been used beforehand to eradicate any remnants of the plague. That generation didn't have the guidance from the Alterans and were unable to evolve and advance so quickly. The Lanteans that chose to join Terra's primitive societies after returning from Pegasus began to guide some of the groups and tribes and in some circumstances interbreed with them. They protected the societies they joined from interference from the Goa'uld; revealing them as false gods and protecting them from being used as a host.

It was several hours before Xander finally sat up and disengaged from the control chair, feeling like he should have a headache from all the knowledge he had gained while connected with the chair but his new advanced state had no problems processing massive amounts of data. It was almost unsettling to have so much knowledge from Evander that was crystal clear and he knew the Lantean's memories and life experiences had changed him. Plus, he could now recall all his own memories with perfect clarity as far back as a toddler; which made the abuse from his parents all the clearer, though he felt more detached from it.

Xander was interrupted from his train of thought by Willow, who called him to his office for a meeting; seemed she had picked up Buffy and Giles at some point and brought them to the ship.

* * *

The group was settled around a conference table in Xander's office and eating food brought by Willow when she had gone done to pick up Buffy and Giles. "Willow, we need to check out the transport ring in a cave system by Kingman's Bluff and if the cave system is still in good shape, we should use that from now on. We'll leave a cloaked gate ship in or near the cave system and find another place closer to the school to park it as well."

Willow nodded, poking at a tablet, while she ate absentmindedly. "Sure, we already gained some attention from the entry and exit tail that the gate ship leaves."

"Attention?" Giles asked worriedly.

Xander nodded before explaining. "There were fighter jets over Los Padres last night when we left after telling you what happened, they were in an obvious search pattern. There is also a repeated communication from an Air Force general that originated from Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, also known as NORAD. So far, we haven't responded because we have the ship cloaked and they can't be sure we are here. They have an _Astria Porta_ at the same location but not a _Vocatus_ device, so it is unlikely they are using it. That's something we need to decide on how to handle, among other things."

"What exactly is an _Astria Porta_ because the translation "Gate of the Stars" makes it seem like perhaps it relates to travel?" Xander knew that Giles would have plenty of questions, the man had even brought a note pad that had some already written down and he couldn't help but be slightly amused.

Willow messed with her tablet for a couple of moments before laying it down on the table and a hologram of an _Astria Porta_ and it's _Vocatus_ device appeared in the air and then showed an animation of opening a wormhole to another before beginning to explain.

"Exactly, it opens a stable artificial wormhole between two _Astria Porta_ and allows one-way nearly instantaneous travel between two distant points. The original idea was created by an Alteran named Amelius, though his first designs weren't capable of connection across an entire galaxy and could only connect across a few local systems; mostly due to lack of power and a design that didn't contain enough naquadah. There are two on Terra, one that is the original that was placed by the Alterans, when a final design that allowed travel across an entire galaxy was achieved, which is over 50 million years old and another that is not nearly as old." Willow explained; knowing about the two gates from the reports that Xander had sent her while he was connected to the chair.

Giles and Buffy were both obviously surprised by this information.

"Over 50 million years?" Buffy asked stunned.

"Yes, the Alterans discovered Terra and the Avalon galaxy over 50 million years ago and many settled on Terra to begin with; though another settlement was simultaneously created on Praclarush, named Taonas. Terra is a Nexus point to other dimensions, realities, and universes and has very high concentrations of certain metaphysical energies; some of which people call magic. These metaphysical energies are woven in the 'fabric' of the universe and are incredibly important because they're required to a certain degree to sustain life of any kind; especially sentient and sapient life. Not all galaxies have a Nexus and those that do usually only have a single one but a rare few have 2 or 3; such as Avalon. The presence of a Nexus also influences the strength of 'magic', on the planet and the galaxy as a whole; an example would be that on Earth it is much easier to perform any kind of 'magic' but would be more difficult the further from a Nexus point and nearly impossible in a galaxy that didn't contain one." Willow continued to explain, obviously enjoying sharing her (and Salix's) knowledge.

"Nexus point?" Giles asked as he was quickly writing down what he was being told.

"Yes, think of the ley lines within Terra. These are mostly natural flows of metaphysical energy and they also exist in space and span across the entire universe, where on occasion multiple lines pass through a planet creating a Nexus point. A true Nexus point is the intersection of 3 or more lines of energy and the more lines, the more powerful the Nexus. This point is overflowing with certain energies that allow passage between various universes, realities, and dimensions; an example is the 'Hellmouth', which is a connection that has been forged to what you call a hell dimension. It is actually a reality that is so divergent from ours that it is unrecognizable and is unlikely to have even a single point of similarity with us. What you call pure demons or old ones are more likely to try to tear the 'fabric' of the universe and push through if they are capable; these extra-dimensional malevolent beings had a strong foothold on Terra when the Alterans found it. They worked to kill or push these 'pure demons' back into their own reality and began to...", Willow paused and tilted her head, trying to come up with an easily understood explanation, "repair the damage done to the 'fabric'. Though some demons held out much longer and infected several humans that the Alterans eventually seeded Terra with and when they eventually left Avalon due to a plague, some of their less pure offspring and tainted humans were able to regain a small foothold. And like you told us; the first Slayer killed the last pure demon."

"So, it was the Alterans that were the ones to truly break the hold that the old ones had on Earth? Much of the mythos that the Council holds says it was powerful mages, though I suppose sufficiently advance science could be seen as magic. Though they do have some rather vague mentions of a species called 'Gate Builders' but they were suspected to be some kind of benevolent beings that had powerful magic that allowed them to travel between dimensions and the gates they built helped with this."

"Interesting, I wonder what they might know or if they have any Alteran or Lantean artifacts?" Willow asked. "Maybe you can ask without drawing too much attention? Xander and I would prefer that you didn't tell the Council about us, at least for now." Xander hadn't been a part of that decision but he could see the intelligence of it, as the Watcher's Council hadn't exactly been a great help to Buffy; even though that was supposed to be their purpose.

Giles looked conflicted but gave a nod, "That might be the best path for now. Do you have a plan for how to deal with being contacted by the military?"

"Not really but for now it isn't a big deal. As I said, they can't be sure we are still here and as long as they aren't using the _Astria Porta_ without it's _Vocatus_, then there is no urgent need to make contact. It is likely they don't even know what it is or how to get it to work." Xander explained.

"Using the _Astria Porta_ without the _Vocatus_ thing is a bad idea?" Buffy asked, using her finger to play with the hologram that was still projecting from Willow's tablet. She was turning the diagram of the inner workings of the _Vocatus_ device around to view it from all angles.

Willow nodded, "Without it or a similar device there could be numerous incidents that could occur and some that could be so devastating as to destroy the entire planet, especially if they encounter a species that they make an enemy of that is more familiar with the _Astria Porta_ and what it is capable of."

"So, definitely of the bad. Would they even be able to find a way to make it work without one?"

Willow nodded, "It's possible but not recommended because it is very unlikely with Terra's level of technology that they would be able to recreate every safety protocol from the _Vocatus_ device that is in Russia; if they are even aware of it."

"Then let us hope they haven't, though you will still need to come up with an idea of how you plan to get in contact and present yourself to them if it becomes necessary."

Willow and Xander looked at each other, fingers touching gently under the table, before nodding. "We will and may ask you to be involved as well, depending."

Giles and Buffy agreed before Giles asked another question. "I would like to have a primer of the language you use if you could make one?"

Willow bounced in her seat, "Actually if you are willing, you won't need one. You and Buffy both have certain proteins and enzymes present that the scanner in the gate ship discovered. that means you have the activation gene that we do. Though both of yours is much less present and not entirely complete but still there and Buffy's is stronger. It means that you will be able to use a repository and learn the language that way, the information will be...downloaded into your brain and then slowly start to unravel."

Giles looked incredibly uncomfortable with that information but Buffy looked curious. "Does this mean that we have some of you guys in our ancestry?"

"Yes, and even closer for you Buffy. It's likely that both your parents carry the gene either active or dormant. Alterans had a gene that naturally developed as our race did, that was eventually strengthened artificially to increase our mental capabilities. The artificial strength was passed down naturally to offspring and became something we used as a 'genetic key' so that only we could operate our technology."

"So, we can use the stuff on the ship?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, though Giles will likely only be able to open doors, use the control panels in personal quarters, and certain other technology. He won't be able to fly one of the gate ships like you could, unless he wanted us to complete the gene. Which we could do for you as well, which is nearly complete as it is." Willow told Buffy, who looked intrigued at the idea. Xander wondered if the mental feel he had gotten from Buffy was due to that alone or if the change to Spock had changed her brain in some way; though he had only felt it when they touched.

It took some convincing but eventually, Giles agreed to the idea of using the repository to learn the language, most likely because he wanted to be able to read the History of their people himself.

* * *

Post Note: Kept adding and removing stuff from this chapter, waffling about how much information I wanted to add in this chapter. Some of the removed content has been moved to chapters 3 or 4. I have a few ideas on how I want this to diverge from both canons and have been playing with each way to see which I like best, as I don't want a powerful ally to 'fix' all of SG-1's problems but they might fix a few and create more.


End file.
